A Theology of Suffering

God’s Grace for Suffering Pastors
by Andy Davis

Paul as the Paradigmatic Sufferer
by Joshua M. Greever

How Pastoral Suffering Sets an Example
by Phil A. Newton

Preaching after Fighting with Your Wife
by Cheston Pickard

What Is Satan’s Role in Suffering, and How Should We Respond?
by Doug Van Meter

Wrestling with God . . . and Winning: John Calvin’s Meditations on Genesis 32:22–32
by Taylor Hartley

A Theology of the Cross Versus a Theology of Glory: Implications of Luther’s Theology for Suffering
by Brian Vickers

Suffering for Being a Pastor

The Art of Dying a Slow Death Well: Long-Suffering in Pastoral Ministry
by Kevin McKay

Handling Ungodly Criticism
by Matt Emadi

Loving Your Wife During a Church Conflict
by Godwin Sathianathan

I Was Fired for My Preaching
by Jeremy Todd

I Was Forced to Step Away Due to Polity
by Neal Thornton

The Pastoral Perseverance of Charles Simeon
by Zack DiPrima

Suffering While Being a Pastor

Pastoring through Personal Tragedy
by Luke Harding

Pastoring with Two Cancers: Leading Your People While Fighting for Faith
by Travis Rymer

Pastoring Amid Family Turmoil
by Michael Lawrence

Caring for a Suffering Wife
by Andy Fenton

Pastoring During a Natural Disaster
by Justin Perdue

How Much of My Suffering Should I Share with My People?
by Garrett Kell

Missionary Suffering

The Costs of Distance and Loneliness and the Reward of Our Ever-Present King
by Jon Pentecost

We Were Waiting to Die: Suffering as a Missionary for the Sake of the Name
by Tyler Markson

Gathering When It’s Illegal: Ministry in the Context of Harassment and Government Surveillance
by Mark Collins

Missionary Suffering Can Serve the Mission
by Sam Martyn

Suffering and the Pastor’s Spiritual Health

When Should a Pastor Step Away from Ministry?
by Deepak Reju

The Value of Pastoral Friendships
by Rob Kane

Pastoral Discouragement Is Normal: Wisdom from Charles Spurgeon
by Geoff Chang

Book Reviews

Persecution in Missions: A Practical Theology by Matt Rhodes
Reviewed by Josh Currie

The Clay Pot Conspiracy: God’s Plan to Use Weakness in Leaders byDave Harvey
Reviewed by Joshua Chatman

Suffering: Gospel Hope When Life Doesn’t Make Sense by Paul David Tripp
Reviewed by David Burnette

Under the Unpredictable Plant: An Exploration in Vocational Holiness by Eugene Peterson
Reviewed by Ben Robin

Editor’s Note:

Every captain worth his salt has encountered a storm at sea. Of course, he doesn’t go looking for a storm—but sooner or later it finds him.

Storms are complicated things. They form—if you’ll go back with me to sixth grade science class—based on three essential ingredients: warm moisture, unstable air, and lift. As warm, moist air is lifted higher into the sky, it cools and water vapor condenses into droplets, eventually forming a tall cumulonimbus cloud. Updrafts and downdrafts then develop inside the cloud, resulting in gusty winds, thunder, lightning, and rain. But here’s the thing: when a squall assaults a captain’s bow, he doesn’t care about its scientific composition. He cares about his ship and his crew.

Something similar happens when a pastor encounters suffering. Instead of analyzing the causes and cures for his suffering, he instinctively thinks about protecting his family and his church. He (rightly) wants to be an example of what it looks like to trust the Lord in the midst of a storm.

The problem is, depending on the ferocity of his trial, a pastor’s courage may melt within him. Suffering can bring him to his wits’ end.

This issue of Church Matters is for you, pastor, regardless of whether you’re walking through suffering right now. If you stay in ministry long enough, suffering will find you. It may be deeply personal: depression, cancer, the death of a loved one, conflict in your marriage, a wayward child. Or your suffering may be directly related to your ministry: a church split, constant criticism of your preaching, or opposition from the surrounding community. Either way, your suffering as a pastor has the added hardship of being public in nature. Your church is listening to what you say and watching how you respond. It’s hard enough to be on a ship in a storm. It’s even harder when everyone else is depending on you to get them home.

In this issue, we offer a little “science,” or theology, of suffering, specifically as it relates to pastors. We’ll address questions like: Why do we suffer? What purposes does God have in our suffering? and How does our suffering relate to our future hope? Our primary aim, however, will be to encourage you in your suffering and equip you to care well for your fellow elders amid their trials. You will read of brothers who have suffered greatly and yet still testify to God’s grace and goodness. I pray their testimonies will encourage you to stay the course, trusting that the Lord who commands the rising of the wind also delivers those who cry out to him (Ps. 107:28–29).

—Taylor Hartley